Mercedes-Benz is currently looking to recall over 350,000 of their vehicles across the United States due to a fire hazard that was brought about by reports of over a dozen fires. The models in question are the newer ones that have a build date between the years of 2014 and 2017.
Daimler, Mercedes-Benz' parent company began the investigation after reports of over 30 car fires around the country and has since figured that the problem lies within the vehicle's engine starter. The problem happens with the very rare combination of the vehicle failing to start on the first attempt after stalling due to being stranded in a significant amount of water.
Investigation
After the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's investigation on the cases, the report states that when this specific combination occurs, the starter gets blocked due to significant engine or transmission damage and any repeated attempts to restart the engine may send high currents into the starter's limiter. Further attempts to restart the engine then could lead to a limiter overheat, and henceforth starting the fire.
The 350,000 vehicles Mercedes-Benz is expected to recall are only in the U.S. territories, but they are reportedly expected to recall approximately 700,000 more from vehicle owners around the world as there were also reports of over 20 engine fires in non-U.S. territories. That number, however, is unverified by Daimler.
The company expects to inform their patrons of the issue within the next 60 days. The vehicle recall is voluntary and Mercedes-Benz will likely resolve the engine issue by installing an additional fuse leading to the starter.
Vehicles expected to be recalled by the company include the 2015-2017 CLA250 (including 4Matic), 2015-2017 CLA45 AMG, 2017 GLA 250 (including 4Matic), 2015-2017 C300 ( including 4Matic), 2017 C300 Cabrio (including 4Matic), 2017 C300 Coupe (including 4Matic), 2016 C350e, 2016-2017 C450 AMG Sport, 2016 GLC300 (including 4Matic), 2017 GLC300 Coupe, 2017 E300 (including 4Matic), 2017 E400 Wagon, and the 2017 E43 AMG.
As of the writing of this article, Daimler has not yet released a statement on the matter and there is no word yet on any injuries or death related to the said incidents.
Fire Hazard Technology
Mercedes-Benz is the latest in the list of big companies that had to issue a recall of their products due to fire hazards. Audi and Nissan have also had their share of vehicle recalls and tech rivals Samsung and Apple have been making headlines when some of their smart phone and washing machine units caught fire. The recently reported fire hazards of the products are seen as one of the reasons why Samsung has seen a big dip in their reputation in the United States.
